Arthur Edmund Carewe

Arthur Edmund Carewe
Carewe publicity photo in Stars of the Photoplay (1922)
Born	Hovsep Hovsepian December 30, 1884 Trabzon, Ottoman Empire
Died	April 22, 1937 (aged 52) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide
Other names	Arthur E. Carew Arthur Edmund Carew Arthur Carew Arthur Carewe
Citizenship	Ottoman American (naturalized)
Education	Cushing Academy
Alma mater	American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1919–1936
Spouse(s)	Irene Pavlowska (m. 1915; div. 1921)

Arthur Edmund Carewe (December 30, 1884^[1] – April 22, 1937) was an Armenian-American stage and film actor of the silent and early sound film era.

Early life

Born Hovsep Hovsepian in Trabzon (Trebizond), Ottoman Empire, Carewe was from a prosperous family in his native country. His father, Garo, was engaged in the banking business and carried some influence from his positions in the national legislature and board of education.^[2] His father died in 1892, and the Hamidian massacres eventually forced the Hovsepian family to emigrate. Carewe emigrated to the United States on August 7, 1896, arriving in New York Harbor on the Augusta Victoria, having departed from Cherbourg.^[3] He was accompanied by his elder brother, Ardasches. Another elder brother, Garo Armen, had preceded them, and their mother arrived the following year.

He attended Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, after which he studied painting and sculpture. At the turn of the century, he and his elder brother Garo ran a rug and furnishings business in New York City. He decided upon a stage career and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, graduating in March 1904 with the David Belasco Gold Medal for Dramatic Ability.

Career

By 1910, he had assumed the stage name of "Arthur Carew" and earned attention in national newspapers for a suspected fake suicide attempt over the actress/dancer Nance Gwynne.^[4] He relocated to Chicago sometime before 1915 and operated another furnishing goods business until he moved to Hollywood in 1919. His debut role was in the Constance Talmadge comedy Romance and Arabella. He became a naturalized citizen June 28, 1918.

During his time in the motion picture industry, Carewe became a well-respected character actor and would perform in several classic literary screen adaptations, including The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927),

specializing as shady, neurotic, wild-eyed characters, which he seemed to revel in playing. He also continued to perform sporadically in regional theaters, essaying in 1921 the role of Prinzivalle in Monna Vanna by Maurice Maeterlinck.^[5] In 1926, he wrote two screenplays for First National that were never produced. In 1928, he traveled to Europe, but a proposal to perform a self-penned screenplay for Universum Film AG was never realized.^[6]

He was for a time considered for, and later turned down, the role of Count Dracula in 1931, which would eventually go to Bela Lugosi. Carewe appeared in fifty films over the course of his career, mostly during the silent film era.

Personal life

Carewe married the soprano Irene Pavlowska (née Irene Levi) on February 17, 1915 in Chicago.^[7] They divorced in 1921.^[8]

Later years and death

Shortly after the release of his final film, Charlie Chan's Secret, in 1936, Carewe suffered a stroke.^[9] On April 22, 1937, he was found dead in his car in the parking lot of a Santa Monica beach motel of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.^[10]

Filmography

Features

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1919	Venus in the East	Middy Knox
1919	Romance and Arabella	Claude Estabrook	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1919	Daughter of Mine	Joseph Rayberg/Baron Landsandhome	Credited as Arthur Carew
1919	The Rescuing Angel	Patricia Reynolds
1919	Girls	Wilbur Searles	Credited as Arthur Carewe Lost film
1919	The World and Its Woman	Count Alix Voronassof	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1919	Dangerous Waters	Victor DeLara	Credited as Arthur Carew
1919	Bonnie Bonnie Lassie	Archibald Loveday	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1920	Burning Daylight	Arthur Howison	Credited as Arthur E. Carew
1920	Rio Grande	Don Jose Alvarado	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1920	Children of Destiny	Count Di Varesi	Credited as Arthur E. Carew
1920	The Breath of the Gods	Prince Hagane	Credited as Arthur Carewe Lost film
1920	The Palace of Darkened Windows	The Rajah
1921	The Mad Marriage	Christiansen	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1921	The Easy Road	Heminway	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1921	Sham	Bolton	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1921	Bar Nothing	Stinson	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1921	Her Mad Bargain	Grant Lewis
1922	The Prodigal Judge	Col. Fentress	Credited as Arthur Carew
1922	My Old Kentucky Home	'Con' Arnold	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1922	His Wife's Husband	John Brainerd	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1922	The Ghost Breaker	Duke d'Alba	Lost film
1923	Refuge	Prince Ferdinand
1923	Daddy	Paul Savelli	Lost film
1923	Trilby	Svengali
1923	The Ten Commandments	Israelite Slave	Uncredited
1923	The Song of Love	Ramlika
1924	Sandra	Henri La Flamme
1924	The Price of a Party	Kenneth Bellwood	Credited as Arthur Carewe
1925	The Boomerang	Poulet
1925	The Phantom of the Opera	Ledoux
1925	A Lover's Oath	Prince Yussuf
1925	The Only Thing	Gigberto	Alternative title: Four Flaming Days
1926	Torrent	Salvatti	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew
1926	Volcano!	Maurice Séquineau
1926	Diplomacy	Count Orloff
1926	Count Orloff	Captain Herault
1927	The Claw	Major Anthony Kinsella
1927	The Cat and the Canary	Harry	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew
1927	A Man's Past	Lieutenant Destin
1927	Uncle Tom's Cabin	George Harris	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew
1930	The Matrimonial Bed	Dr. Fried (credits)/Dr. Beaudine (in film)	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew
1930	Sweet Kitty Bellairs	Capt. Spicer
1931	Captain Applejack	Ivan Borolsky, aka Jim	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew
1931	God's Gift to Women	Dr. Louis Dumont
1931	The Gay Diplomat	Suave Man
1932	Doctor X	Dr. Rowitz
1933	Mystery of the Wax Museum	Sparrow - Professor Darcy
1935	Thunder in the Night	Professor Omega
1936	Charlie Chan's Secret	Professor Bowen	Credited as Arthur Edmund Carew

References

1. Although this is the commonly accepted year, and some references cite 1894, his 1917 draft registration card and his 1915 marriage license give his birth year as 1881.
2. Stone, Wilbur Fisk. History of Colorado: Volume II. Chicago: S.J. Clark, 1918.
3. Avakian, Linda L. Armenian Immigrants: Boston 1891-1901, New York 1880-1897. Picton Press, 1996. (ISBN 0897252756)
4. "Actress' Bid For Publicity Lands Actor In Jail", New York Times, February 7, 1910.; "Tries Again To See Miss Gwyn", Boston Daily Globe, February 7, 1910. pg. 7.
5. "Both Busy On Stage," Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1921. p. III4; "'Monna Vanna' To Be Given For Mary Garden Today," Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1921. p. III4.
6. "Arthur Carew With UFA", Los Angeles Times, March 23, 1928. p. A8
7. Marriage License
8. "Irene Pavlowska, Bride, Guarantees Alimony," Washington Post, December 30, 1928, p. M1, 10.
9. Hanke, Ken (1990). Charlie Chan at the Movies: History, Filmography, and Criticism. McFarland. p. 64. ISBN 0-786-48661-9.
10. "Suicide Victim Former Actor," Los Angeles Times, April 23, 1937. p. A2

External links

• Arthur Edmund Carewe at the Internet Movie Database
• Arthur Edmund Carewe at Find a Grave